Ad Reinhardt 1913-1967

Ad Reinhardt was “one of the most relentless defenders of the purity of abstraction.” So reads the first line from the link, above. He would have scoffed completely at the use of  the term “abstract landscapes”.

Two things stand out: other artist biographies in this course mention that Ad was a good friend. He was important to Agnes Martin.

The other thing is that he was a wicked cartoonist who taught/mocked through his cartoons. You can see them online in an 2013 article at hyperallergic.com.

In his last decade he altered his oil paints, reduced them to liquid pigment and painted matte black paintings with subtle color tints.

It’s hard to do – here’s mine:

And back to Agnes Martin for a moment: the latest New Yorker (June 10&17) has a short story byHan Ong, “Javi”. The painter in the story sure sounds like Agnes Martin, but Han Ong moves the timeline perhaps to the present?